Brought to Light
by XIII-Jinx-XIII
Summary: Secrets, once brought to light, are hard to forget. They know what's out there. Now they have to live with it. Sequel to In Shadow.
1. Uncertainty

**Happy Halloween! Here's your treat.**

_"Monsters don't always lurk in the shadows. Sometimes they hide in plain sight."  
><em>- Belle Aurora

**Uncertainty**

**-X-**

"Reid, what are you doing?"

Hotch reached out to steady the off-balance tower of files on the edge of his agent's desk. It was late, they'd just finished another case, and everyone else had already gone home for some much needed rest.

"Just looking over some old cases..." The younger man didn't even look up, only pausing in his reading to jot down some quick notes and grab another file. The tower teetered dangerously again, but managed to stay on the desk.

"Why all of a sudden?" Hotch thumbed through a couple of files. Three hikers that had gone missing in Washington... a group of beheaded college-aged kids in Michigan...

"Have you ever wondered just how many of our unsolved cases were... un-natural?" Reid asked hesitantly, his pen slowing just a bit.

The files Hotch had hidden in one of his desk's bottom drawers came to mind. He was pretty sure that at least one of them was a poltergeist. He sighed.

"Go home, Reid. Sleep."

"But-"

"No. I need you ready to work. Get some rest and come back to this another time."

Only after Reid had gotten into the elevator, leaving the files in a box under the desk, did Hotch return to his office. He hesitated when he leaned down to pick up his briefcase and his eyes locked on his drawer. No one was waiting at home, anyway.

**-X-**

**Da-da-da, I'm back! **

**Welcome to **_**Brought to Light**_**, a series of one-shots that follow **_**In Shadow**_**. I am open to prompts, so if you have an idea or something you'd like to see, send me a PM. You know what that button below is for. Good night ^3^**


	2. Secrets

_"Nothing weighs on us so heavily as a secret."  
><em>- Jean de La Fontaine

**Secrets**

**-X-**

Will had lived alone for a while, but he'd had his share of roommates in the past. There'd been girlfriends, friends, and six memorable months spent sharing a rather small house with four other people. He was well versed in the adjustment period necessary for everyone to learn each other's quirks.

He'd seen a few strange ones too: one who organized all his books by size; another who had to double check every lock in the house before going to sleep, including the windows and inside-doors; and one ex-girlfriend's snores could wake the dead.

Most of the quirks that Will noticed right away were as he'd expected. JJ always did a quick, casual sweep of the house when she got home, and she always had her bag packed in case the BAU had to leave (that was a habit that stuck around well into her maternity leave). He had not expected the salt.

JJ always had a lot of salt in the house. Not just table salt, though she made sure they were well stocked in that too, but she'd also bought rock salt in bulk as soon as it appeared on the shelves. He'd asked her why out of curiosity at the time, considering it was nowhere near cold enough for ice yet, and she'd said it was on sale. He'd let it go; maybe winters were worse than he thought up here.

Then, less than a month before Henry was born and during one of the few times JJ had not travelled with them, the team came back from South Dakota with a large package. Garcia had quickly enlisted Morgan, Prentiss and Reid to help her deliver it, practically trembling with excitement. Curiosity was contagious and, despite the late hour and general post-case exhaustion, everyone but Garcia (who smiled like she had secret sitting on her tongue) crowed 'round to read the short note. In blocky scrawl it explained that its contents were crafted from rowan and it was signed '_The boys (and Bobby)_'. It meant nothing to Will, but JJ had shot Garcia a stunned look.

Inside the box they found the pieces to a plain but well crafted crib. Her mother had gifted them with a newer styled one, but at JJ's insistence the six of them made quick work of packing it away and replacing it with the wooden one. Will thought the pale wood looked better in the newly-painted nursery, anyway.

Four months later, Will had finally been able to (help) persuade JJ to take a night off and accept an invitation for a well deserved girls' night. He'd just put Henry down to sleep and was alternately humming and singing to help him settle down, when he noticed the slight grooves in the otherwise smooth wood beneath his fingers.

It didn't feel natural, it was too even. So he found a small penlight and checked the undersides of the railing; then under the crib itself. Tiny symbols lined the wood in intricate patterns. Some Will thought he recognized from old books of his father's, they might have been Norse or Celtic, but he wasn't sure, and others he'd never seen before.

"What in the world?" he muttered, careful not to wake the finally sleeping baby.

Later, JJ came home to find Will fast asleep on the couch with an open laptop and a notebook full of runes and sigils on the coffee table. She closed the laptop silently, spread a throw blanket over him, and, with a mixture of guilt and relief washing over her, she stepped outside to do something she'd hoped to put off as long as possible. JJ called Bobby Singer for advice on how to shatter someone's world-view and tell them about the things that went bump in the night.

**-X-**

**NOTES:  
>- the majority of these one-shots will not be in order<br>- (to answer LeeMarieJack) a lot of these do have a basis in larger fics I just don't feel like I'd be able to finish right now, but maybe someday  
>- Dean came back to life around Sept. 18, 2008; Henry was born Oct. 26, 2008<br>- the rowan tree and its wood are supposed to be a powerful ward for protection both on its own and in ritual  
>- I also realised while doing timeline research that JJ probably should not have been traveling so close to when she gave birth. I swear, that woman is a tank<strong>

**As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated (as are prompts and requests)**


	3. Talk to Me

_"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood."  
>- <em> Lucius Annaeus Seneca

**Talk to Me**

**-X-**

_Bzzzt. Bzzzt._

"Dean. Phone." Dean rolled over with a groan and pulled his pillow over his head, trying to block out the sound. Until Sam's pillow hit him in the stomach with an almost solid thump. Damn motel pillows.

"You're not getting that back now," he grumbled rolling onto it and reaching for his phone. "Yeah?"

"Clearly, you are not a morning person," chimed the bright voice in the other end.

"Barely two A.M., Penny. Just fell asleep."

"Then I promise to make this quick."

"Fine. Shoot."

"Werewolves: are we looking for wolf-man or full on dire wolf?"

"Wolf-man, minus the fur. Always eat the heart. Full wolf and you're looking at a skinwalker. Silver'll take down either of 'em."

"Thanks. Sweet dreams."

**-X-**

"Penny, this is really not the best time. I'm, ah, working."

"Just one question. Does table salt work?"

"Nah, needs to be pure rock salt. If you need anything else, call later."

He ended the call and sent the police officer he'd been talking to a sheepish smile.

"Little sisters. She's trying to make ice cream."

**-X-**

"Do you ever call Sam for these things?"

"He answered your phone once while you were in the shower, does that count?"

**-X-**

"I'm beginning to think you never sleep."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical Mr. Four Hours?"

**-X-**

"You know you can always call Bobby, right? He's practically the expert on things these things."

"I know. I've got his number tucked away, but I just like talking to you."

"Must be my charm."

"Nah. I just know you won't hang up on a pretty girl."

"He'd listen. Just keep it in mind."

"... I will. Dean, are you okay?"

"..."

**-X-**

"Penny? What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

"It's going on three in the morning where you are, and I know you're not working because you wouldn't be calling me."

"I'm fine. I'm just... not sleeping well lately. I guess."

"Then talk to me. You know I won't judge."

**-X-**

"Dean Morgan Winchester, you pick up this damn phone right now!"

"Dean, I swear to God, if you do not call me back."

"Dean... Please..."

**-X-**

**And thus Dean Winchester went to hell (I swear the next one will be happy)  
>I hope all of you had a great holiday and have a great year!<strong>

**NOTES:  
>- Dean <strong>_**Morgan **_**Winchester - Dean has no official middle name but I'm partial to using Morgan because of Jeffrey Dean Morgan  
>- I've always seen Garcia as someone who gets attached to people quickly and easily<strong>

**You know what to do with reviews and prompts**


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